Few back export of prisoners, survey finds
| • | Where legislators stand on the issues |
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
A majority of legislators oppose sending more Hawai'i inmates to Mainland prison facilities, and favor instead building a prison here and expanding community-based drug treatment programs to help reduce prison crowding.
But it remains to be seen whether hurdles that continue to block movement on the prison issue — such as cost and location — can be overcome in this year's Legislature, which opens on Wednesday.
Hawai'i's 76 state representatives and senators were asked their views on 25 issues ranging from public safety and taxes to gambling and campaign contributions in The Advertiser's annual legislative survey.
The issue of what to do about Hawai'i's crowded prisons has been hotly debated since the state began paying to board inmates in Mainland facilities in 1995. The Legislature authorized the governor several years ago to negotiate with developers directly for a new correctional facility, but former Gov. Ben Cayetano abandoned negotiations on a jail days before his term ended in December.
Gov. Linda Lingle, who opposes sending inmates to the Mainland, promised voters during the campaign that she would build two privately financed, 500-bed drug treatment correctional facilities in Hawai'i.
Many lawmakers — most of them Democrats — declined to indicate whether they supported such a proposal.
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House Majority Leader Scott Saiki, D-22nd (McCully, Pawa'a), said the House Democrats want to "continue to give the governor the flexibility to construct a prison in Hawai'i," but acknowledged that money would be a factor.
House Majority Leader Scott Saiki
House Minority Leader Galen Fox
House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako), supports Lingle's idea to have private companies finance new drug-treatment facilities. But he also said there's "nothing wrong with spending (state construction money) on treatment facilities.
"We have a serious crystal meth problem, and we have real pressure on the prison to release people early, including people who haven't been treated," Fox said.
"What we need are treatment facilities within the context of the criminal justice system so that people who are arrested and convicted of crimes can be taken off drugs."
Senate Majority Leader Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), said another prison could be built with special-purpose revenue bonds, and that the state can no longer postpone such a project.
"I think this is something that we will have to give a priority to as a legislative body, because if we don't, it might be determined for us," Hanabusa said, referring to the risk of a federal consent decree.
"It's always better for us to have control over the outcome than a situation where we're forced to do something because we violated someone's rights. I think we're getting pretty close to where it's not a choice for us."
Nearly every Republican lawmaker and a majority of senators who responded to the survey said they opposed using money in the $184 million Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund.
But many House Democrats declined to say whether the state should tap the fund. That's a change from last year's survey, when nearly every lawmaker was against using that money. Lawmakers last year ended up transferring $29 million from the reserves in the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund to the general treasury.
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano's proposed budget — which Lingle and the Legislature are working from — uses $175 million from the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund. Lingle has repeatedly said that fund needs to stay intact and pledged not to tap into it to help balance the budget.
The fact that most House Democrats did not answer the question does not indicate a willingness to use the fund or attempt to keep it as an option, Saiki said.
"I think it's just because we aren't really sure what the state financial plan and the budget will look like in April," he said.
In fact, many House Democrats and some Senate Democrats declined to answer about half of the questions on the survey, particularly those that dealt with the budget and taxes.
Gambling questions generated the most responses, with nearly all lawmakers opposing the legalization of casino and shipboard gambling or a state lottery.
"Our general reaction was that the questions were very specific on fiscal issues, but there are so (many) uncertainties at this point in time over the revenue picture that it would be difficult to give specific responses," Saiki said.
Many Democrats also avoided indicating whether they supported decentralizing the public school system into seven locally elected school boards — a Republican favorite that Lingle has promised to deliver during the campaign.
Both Democrats and Republicans supported similar proposals last year, but the two measures failed after Senate Education Committee Chairman Norman Sakamoto opted for a task force to study the issue. Education experts have mixed opinions on whether replacing the Board of Education with local school boards will improve schools.
A majority of Democrats also oppose repealing the so-called "bottle bill" that establishes a 5-cent deposit for beverage containers in 2005.
Lingle and most Republican lawmakers have criticized the law passed last year, saying it does little to reduce the material dumped in landfills. Recycling advocates have hailed the law as a way to improve the landfill situation and reduce litter.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
